January 7, 2008

California Healthy Families Plan for Children

In California (and most other states) there are special programs available through the state to offer quality healthcare to children. These are low cost insurance plans by offered by quality health insurance companies, that provides health, dental and vision coverage to children who do not have insurance today and do not qualify for no-cost Medi-Cal. program.

This insurance coverage pays most of your children’s costs for visits to doctors, dentists, and specialists. These plans also contract with clinics, laboratories, pharmacies and hospitals for your children’s health care. Usually a nominal doctor co-payment charge of $5.00 must be paid when services are rendered. The cost of this healthcare program is very inexpensive. Premiums are band rated based on the families net income. An average premium would be between $8.00 & $15.00 per month per child, or a maximum of $45.00 per month for all children in the family.

To qualify your child for coverage, a brief questionnaire must be completed. It is more of a calculation worksheet. You don't have to qualify as "poor" to be eligible for this plan. A family earning in excess of $60,000 per year could still qualify. There are also plans to cover pregnant and expecting mothers. In most communities there are volunteers or Healthy Family liasons to assist you with your application and document submission.

For more details you can contact your states department of health and family services, or departmant of insurance. In California you can reach Healthy Families (here)